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THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE for Arizona governor, journalist Kari Lake, gave a lesson to the press Thursday by answering a reporter why she believes that questioning the results of an election does not divide the country in political terms.
During a press conference, Lake was asked by a reporter if she believed that former President Donald Trump’s questioning of the 2020 election results added fuel to the political divide in the United States. Lake’s response left the reporter speechless.
This is one of the best answers to the media’s 2020 election questions I’ve heard. pic.twitter.com/yYni3wwjhi
— Realignment Politics (@politicsrea) September 2, 2022
“You say you feel like Joe Biden is dividing the country, but do you feel like Donald Trump is doing the same by falsely telling people that he won that election when he lost it?” the reporter asked.
Calm but confident, Lake initially responded with a couple of questions, “How does that divide the country? Questioning an election where there were obviously problems is dividing the country? Since when can we not ask questions about our elections?”
Lake compares Trump to Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris
The candidate immediately evoked the results of the 2016 elections in which Donald Trump won against Hillary Clinton. At the time, Lake was a journalist working at Fox.
“I was a journalist after 2016 and I distinctly remember many people just like you asking a lot of questions about the 2016 election results, and nobody tried to shut you up,” the Republican responded. “Nobody tried to tell Hilary Clinton to shut up. Nobody tried to tell Kamala Harris, when she was questioning the legitimacy of these electronic voting machines, to stop.”
Lake then defended the principle of free speech that allowed Democratic politicians to question election results when they did not win, and promised to protect the Constitution that still guarantees that right.
“We have freedom of speech in this country, and you of all the people should appreciate that,” Lake continued. “You’re, supposedly, a journalist. You should appreciate that. So I don’t see how asking questions about an election where there were many problems is dividing a country.”
Lake told the journalist that what does divide a country is “shutting down, censoring, cancelling, trying to destroy people’s lives” of those who ask questions that may be uncomfortable for the political establishment.
“Last I heard, we still have a Constitution,” the candidate continued. “It’s hanging by a thread, thanks to some of the work some people in this area have done, but we’re going to save that Constitution and we’re going to bring back freedom of speech, and maybe some day you’ll thank us for that.”
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.